New Bodycam Footage From Utah Fight, Judd Slams Police Investigation: Brian Laundrie

NORTH PORT, FL — There are daily twists and turns as the search for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of his fiancée, Gabby Petito, continues.

While tips about his location pour in from across the country and North America, new body camera footage of the couple talking to Utah police shows Petito telling them Laundrie grabbed her face during a fight. And in Florida, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd slammed law enforcement’s handling of the case so far.

The couple was traveling throughout the western United States in Petito’s converted camper van this summer when she disappeared. Her family on Long Island last heard from her at the end of August and her body was found weeks later, on Sept. 19, near Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. Her death has been ruled a homicide, though no cause of death has been released.

Laundrie returned to his family’s North Port, Florida home — where Petito also lived — from their trip alone in her van Sept. 1. A week and a half later, she was reported missing by her family to Suffolk County police on Sept. 11. Her fiancé was later reported missing by his parents on Sept. 17, who said they hadn’t seen him since Sept. 14. Authorities have been searching for him ever since and a federal arrest warrant was issued for him in connection with the unauthorized use of an unnamed person's debit card.

It's been widely reported that North Port police went to the Laundrie home the night Petito’s family reported her missing in New York to recover her van. At the time, the family refused to speak with investigators, directing them to contact their attorney, instead.

Now, it’s being reported that five calls involving the family’s home were made to local police on Sept. 10 and 11 and police visited their home the day before Petito was reported missing, according to ABC 7 NY.

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North Port police responded to the home twice for “public service calls” on Sept. 10 — at 4 p.m. and then again around 6:30 p.m. Police marked both calls as “problem settled,” reports said.

They were called to the home again Sept. 11, the day Petito was officially reported missing. While authorities marked down the first two calls as “problem settled” and “no police action needed,” respectively, the third was more involved — an “agency assist” — and resulted in a police report, ABC said.

New Body Camera Footage From Utah Fight

New police body camera footage from a domestic incident involving Petito and Laundrie in Utah sheds new insight into their fight.

In the newly released 52-minute video, which was recorded by Moab police officer Eric Pratt’s body camera during the Aug. 12 incident, Petito said Laundrie got physical with her during an argument, People reported.

While she noted she hit her fiancé first, she told police he grabbed her face, cutting her cheek. She tried to downplay the incident, though, asking to pay for a driving ticket rather than bringing charges against Laundrie.

No charges were filed, and no tickets were issued, but the couple was urged to separate for the night. Police helped Laundrie get a hotel for the night.

Pratt also included conflicting information on the police report from the incident, which the responding officers classified as “disorderly conduct,” according to People. The officer wrote that a witness reported seeing a man hitting a woman prior to their questioning Laundrie and Petito. Later in the report, he wrote that “no one reported that the male struck the female.”

Sheriff Grady Judd Slams Handling Of The Case

Polk County’s Sheriff Grady Judd, who hasn’t been involved in the investigation into Petito’s death or the search for Laundrie, slammed how law enforcement has managed the case during a Thursday news conference about a child porn investigation in his county, WFLA reported.

“I can tell you at this sheriff’s office, when he showed up with her car and she was no place to be found, we never would have let him out of our custody that day. Other than that, I’m not sure where their investigation is,” he said.

Judd also critiqued the Moab Police Department’s handling of the Aug. 12 incident in Utah.

“I can tell you that according to Florida law, when she was the victim of domestic violence originally, he would’ve been arrested,” he said.

Tips On Laundrie’s Whereabouts Keep Coming In

The manhunt for Laundrie has led to tips pouring in from all over the country — and the world. Authorities, as well as Duane Chapman, the reality TV star known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, and John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" fame, have looked into reported sightings of Laundrie in Alabama, northern Florida, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas and other locations.

Much of the search conducted by the FBI, North Port police and law enforcement partners initially centered on the Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County. Laundrie’s parents said that’s where their son was headed to go hiking when they last saw him Sept. 14.

Various methods have been used to comb the swampy 25,000-acre nature reserve, including K-9 dogs, ATVs, drones, helicopters, dive teams and airboats; however, the FBI, which took over the investigation in the reserve, has scaled back the search in that area.

In recent days, Chapman has focused his search on southern Pinellas County after confirming that Laundrie and his parents reserved a campsite at Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde, just south of St. Petersburg, for Sept. 6-8. The historic park is about 75 miles north of their North Port home.

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The bounty hunter searched Egmont Key and Shell Key — secluded southern Pinellas County islands just southwest of Fort De Soto Park and only accessible by boat — with boat crews, ground teams, and K-9 search-and-rescue dogs.

During his search, Chapman found a fresh campsite and Monster Energy drinks in the woods of Shell Key, Fox News reported.

The search for Laundrie has also refocused on the Appalachian Trail, which some have speculated could be where he's heading since he went missing. Chapman and Walsh both said they’ve received numerous tips pointing them in that direction.

Laundrie, an experienced outdoorsman, lived on the Appalachian Trail for three months, and he and Petito spent some time there together in March. The 2,180-mile trail stretches from Georgia to Maine.

Chapman’s daughter, Lyssa Chapman, tweeted Sunday that their team was looking for an experienced hiker or survivalist in North Carolina to help with the search.

This week, authorities in North Carolina have been looking into tips that Laundrie might be hiding along the trail there.

Sheriff’s offices in Watauga and Avery counties said that they’ve received numerous leads about Laundrie possibly hiding along the North Carolina portion of the trail and have been in touch with the FBI, according to WSOC.

“If there’s something legitimate, we’ll check it out. And if there’s something more to it, then the FBI will be contacted — but not on every call,” Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman said.

There have also been multiple posts on a Facebook group called Appalachian Classifieds about Laundrie sightings in the Boone, North Carolina area, the Watauga Democrat reported.

New Details About Laundrie Family’s Camping Trip

After joining the search for Laundrie, Chapman was tipped off about him camping with his parents at Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County about a week before he disappeared.

Though his tipsters said the Laundrie family made two trips to the historic park, first staying there Sept. 1-3, then returning Sept. 6-8, records provided by Pinellas County indicated they only visited once.

Records show that, Laundrie's mother, Roberta Laundrie, made a reservation Sept. 3, booking the waterfront site 001 for Sept. 6-8 — just days after Petito went missing. The campground check-in report for Sept. 6 shows Roberta Laundrie signed in that day.

According to Chapman's lead, Brian Laundrie's parents left the park without their son.

Steven Bertolino, the family's attorney, said Tuesday that Laundrie camped at the site with his parents Sept. 6-7 and insisted they left the park together, according to WFLA.

Chapman claims video surveillance footage from Fort De Soto Park shows Laundrie's parents leaving the park alone. The FBI is reviewing the footage as part of its search for Laundrie, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Additional details have recently emerged about this camping trip. The family’s attorney, Steven Bertolino, said Laundrie’s sister, Cassie, joined her family at Fort De Soto Park Sept. 6, according to WFLA.

This contradicts statements she previously made when interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Sept. 17. She said she hadn’t seen her brother since he returned to Florida.

“I haven’t been able to talk to him. I wish I could talk to him,” she said during the interview. “I’ve cooperated in every way that I can. I wish I had information, or I would give more.”

Bertolino explained the discrepancy by claiming that ABC’s question about the matter was either “misinterpreted by Cassie or poorly posed by the inquirer,” according to reports.

It’s also been reported by Fox 13 that on Aug. 24 — about a week before her son returned to Florida and weeks before Petito was reported missing — Brian’s mother initially made a reservation for two people to camp at Fort De Soto Park from Sept. 1-3.

She canceled that reservation on Aug. 31 and made a new one on Sept. 3, this time for three people, to camp at the park Sept. 6-8.

Chapman said his team is reviewing everything they found on Egmont Key and Shell Key before deciding where the search will take them next.